If I combine this picture of the landing site (downslope towards WNW)
http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.p...st&id=53653
with the PV cells orientation from the loanding telemetry (towards +X; +Y is downslope),
then the PV cells should be facing north / slightly to the east (NNE).

This would mean (at 13°S) that in fact the ilumination could improve a little bit in the coming days.

(Just a very quick over-the-thumb analysis from my side, might be wrong)

Thorsten

Congratulations for a soft landing on the Moon.

Is restarting of the engines possible for SLIM? For an attempted hop or attitude change.

One thing I noticed and don't understand is that the IMU (lower left corner) was showing normal lunar surface gravitational acceleration at landing but the bar changed color from green to yellow. Don't know what the color coding indicates, but given the attitude graphic does this imply that the lander is indeed upside down?

That would explain the array not charging, but if so why are they getting telemetry unless it has a very robust omni antenna? Or maybe there's one on the ventral surface for use during cruise.

From this post, it seems there's several antennas all around the spacecraft.

Loss of Signal.
- from Scott Tilley,
- from AMSAT-DL.
Not sure if this genuinely means mission LOS or if it just finished transmitting something.

Presumably the lower left is the vector sum of the three accel axes and doesn't say anything about orientation, and they only display the angular rates, not the absolute angles. But one imagines they wouldn't draw it upside down if it weren't in fact oriented that way.

NASA's Deep Space Network is currently showing no radio traffic with SLIM. There was steady download during the first few hours after the landing.

Live feed from DSN:

Deep Space Network Tracking

This is not in any way a negative indication of the state of the spacecraft - radio traffic can be expected to stop and start.

I have added SLIM to my Moon map. It is here:

https://publish.uwo.ca/~pjstooke/moon-sites-map.jpg


Phil

Great map, Phil!
Is there also a version including only the landers and impactors (successful and unsuccessful), but not the upper stages and orbiters?

----

Excellent 12min Video analyzing the Slim landing from Scott Manley:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muK6gFtv7_o

The solar panels might point westwards.
This means that from in a week or so they might start generating power.

Thorsten

Thanks, Thorsten. I don't have a different version of the map.


Here's a JAXA tweet with welcome news (but no images released yet)


https://twitter.com/SLIM_JAXA/status/1749295017427108233

着陸後、電源OFFするまでの間に、着陸降下中や月面で取得した技術データや画像データの地上への送信を完了できました。現在、そのデータの詳細な解析を行っています。プロジェクトチームとしてはたくさんのデータが取得できたことを確認し、ほっとするとともにワクワクしはじめています。
#JAXA #SLIM
Translated from Japanese by
After landing, until the power was turned off, the technical data and image data acquired during the landing descent and on the lunar surface were successfully transmitted to the ground. We are currently conducting a detailed analysis of that data. As a project team, we are relieved and excited to see that we have been able to obtain a large amount of data.
#JAXA #SLIM
8:56 PM · Jan 21, 2024



From published views of the lander it appears that the multispectral camera is facing sideways as intended, and if they were able to operate it, or are able to when the sun reaches the array, it should provide good data.

Phil

EDIT:

https://twitter.com/SLIM_JAXA/status/1749320754628546849


We are preparing to announce the status of #SLIM and current results at the end of the week. Although the attitude after landing did not go as planned, we are glad we could achieved so much and are happy to have landed successfully. We’re also excited to analyse the data. #JAXA


Another point... The multispectral camera is not a panoramic camera, it will take images covering an area about 50 by 70 degrees across. But perhaps the navigation cameras are also able to take images on the surface so a partial panorama might emerge.

It appears that in fact the solar panels are facing west!
https://twitter.com/Cosmic_Penguin/status/1...312587131756589

Will there be generated solar power some time after local solar noon?

Thorsten

That's what that tweet says, yes. Presumably JAXA has good orientation data from the images they have received but not yet released.

This was actually intended as a rhetorical question.
We'll see what happens.

And it appears that the telemetry data of the probe's orientation in the live broadcast was indeed correct.
The solar cells there also faced west.

Thorsten

https://twitter.com/AstroKovacs/status/1749741343553810552

Hungarian @astroKovacs has tweeted a very nice visualization of what might have made SLIM come to rest in such an apparently precarious orientation. The suggestion is that it may be touching a rock or a small crater wall rather than completely free-standing. We may know more about this on Friday.

Phil

Still nothing detected but JAXA was continuing to sweep/command as of 9 hours ago. Maybe tomorrow. https://nitter.net/coastal8049

From the JAXA Livestream update here -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U61i0wN01Uk

My Japanese is non-existent but these look like surface images to me!

It seems there was some kind of engine failure during landing. If I understand this right, one of the engine nozzles seems to have followed its own independent landing trajectory.

They've confirmed that the lander is resting on the surface nose-down as expected.

Oh wow! From LEV-2. (edited - originally wrote LEV-1).

And it looks like it has just one nozzle on top. The second nozzle broke off during the hover phase.

Phil

https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/slim/SLIM/ass...ss_20240125.pdf

Slides in Japanese - get that translator software fired up!

Phil

That's an extremely scenic bit of (Lunar) terrain!

Any ideas about why the nozzle broke off?

Didn't Akatsuki also break a nozzle (I know, different time/place)?

P

Very cool images! Hopefully it can start working again soon (and if so, could it be righted with the remaining fuel on board)?
I wonder if any sign of the nozzle breakup is visible in that detailed telemetry we had from landing.
Yes, it was Akatsuki that lost a nozzle when attempting Venus orbit insertion. Note sure if it's the same type of engine or not....

The falling nozzle is visible in this PDF PPT; look at slide 9, Right image. The camera has snapped the detached nozzle falling away. The Left image shows the same background terrain without the nozzle. Both views were taken by the navigation camera, looking straight down.

SLIM press conference slide show

The nozzle is also visible a few slides later...

This view is looking approximately SE I believe.

Click to view attachment
With today's images and article by Andrew Jones I am finally in position to offer landing map.
Article reports 25.24889E, 13.31549S as landing site, I get 25.253834E, 13.31406S from LRO NAC image M1249381781LC.
Click to view attachment
Close up with navigational images. Grid at 10m.

Click to view attachment
3D view looking SE towards Cyrillus crater edge, roughly the same direction as the one from the LEV-2 photo released today.
SLIM really landed on a pronounced slope!
Click to view attachment
I also came across a photo with few rocks labeled.

I did some digging and it may be the same engine (or at least a 2nd/3rd generation of the Akatsuki main engine). Akatsuki did use a 500 N ceramic engine and from the SLIM press kit they mention the same attributes for their main engine. Akatsuki failed due to a stuck fuel side pressurization check valve. No way to know if this was a similar issue (but one thing I know after 37+ years of prop experience is we usually overkill issue issues that occur on previous missions, so most issues are new ones). Sadly the Akatsuki failure put big dampers on development and use of ceramic larger thrust engines and this failure may have the same effect. Lets hope in the current position that SLIM can still produce power when the arrays are illuminated and recover some of their mission.

Trying to understand the viewing geometry in the surface images. This image shows a composite of the MBC image and the LEV-2 image to maximize viewing of the horizon (incidentally, although this LEV-2 image was relayed to Earth via the LEV-1 hopper, it seems that LEV-1 did not obtain any images). Below is an LROC view from Quickmap showing approximately the field of view of that composite. A prominent crater below the distant horizon ridge is discernable in the composite as a very bright spot on the right side of the lander (high sun LROC images show it has bright ejecta).

Also, a shadow-filled crater half visible on the left edge of the LEV-2 image is seen in Jake's map just to the east of the lsnding site.

Phil

Click to view attachment

Not to cast doubt, but this image looks strange in that the background beyond the close up ridge looks a bit out of focus, depth of field fair enough, but the horizon ridge appears sharp, yet pixellated.
As well as that, the background looks brownish compared to the monochrome foreground.
Wondered if any pic experts couid explain? (there are a few sceptics on social media claiming it's not real)

- Michael

Such "skeptics" are more accurately characterized as "conspiracy theorists". Per Forum rule 1.9 such nonsense is not a permissable area of discussion.

I have learned a few things about the multispectral camera image. What we have seen so far is a low resolution monochrome survey of the field of view available to the instrument. It consists of 257 individual small frames. A total of 333 were supposed to be taken but the sequence was cut short to be sure it could all be transmitted. If SLIM is revived as the sun reaches its solar panel, a set of 10-band multispectral images will be taken of specific targets identified in the existing image. Those targets are presumably the six rocks identified by names (breeds of dog) in one image.

Phil

(EDIT: I corrected the numbers of frames)

Having read the above reminder of rule 1.9 I should probably be clear that I am asking because I'm interested in the technology of the LEV-2 mini rover and where it might go from here: My own searching has thrown up precious little on the specifics of the LEV-2 cameras, and how they are oriented and operate - except that control board for them was designed with maximum energy efficiency in mind, by Sony. Does anyone have any directions or links to a more detailed break-down of them? EDIT: I'm aware that the rover was made by TOMY, a toy manufacturer, but I've not found anything in the way of technical material on their website.

Quite rightly so, but I was more interested in technical reasons (such as compression artifacts etc.) informing why the photo might look like that, not to discuss conspiracy nonsense.

LRO found SLIM : https://x.com/nasascienceaa/status/17508963...fWw235ADkQ7vfxA

Wrong link? It's discussing the retroreflector from the Vikram lander.

Still working alright for me, don’t know what to do about it, sorry…

A story has just appeared at the LROC website.

The post is from January 18th

I found it on the LROC website: https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/1358
Looks like some exhaust kicked up, but still hard to resolve anything.

Click to view attachment
SLIM being imaged by LRO allows me to make a minor correction, it turns out the lander is about 10m to the south of the previous estimate.
In rounded numbers I get 25.254, -13.315 for long/lat of the landing coordinates, a slight difference from the estimate of 25.251, -13.316 reported in LRO release.
SLIM is visible, but is just a few pixels across in size.

It seems that SLIM is emitting radio again...
https://twitter.com/amsatdl/status/1751701647640732152

Thorsten

https://twitter.com/coastal8049/status/1751723650372538717

Scott Tilley agrees with this. I really hope the MBC can be operated in the c. 3 days we have left before sunset.

Phil

I've seen some speculation that the press release's mention of a pressure-fed-blow-down 2 engine system could be important. As the fuel / oxidizer tanks drain low, if one engine started to run fuel rich and the other runs oxygen-rich, the hotter oxygen rich side might have burned through / thermal shocked the ceramic nozzle.

JAXA confirms resumption of the mission and science activities.
https://twitter.com/SLIM_JAXA/status/1751742976253190226

Google Translate:

(toy poodle? either a translation error or I don't know what a toy poodle looks like, which is quite possible)

Edit: Oooh!

I think "Toy Poodle" refers to one of the rocks in the immediate vicinity of SLIM.

Yes, it does - look at post 77 in this thread.

Phil

Now. a report of a possible detection of Lev-1 transmission.

https://twitter.com/PI9CAM/status/1751657240728117705

Phil

updates copied from @SLIM_JAXA tweets in the last few minutes:

------------------------
Small lunar landing demonstration vehicle SLIM
@SLIM_JAXA
·
17m
From 9:00 pm last night to 9:00 am today, we operated SLIM using deep space antennas at 34 m at Uchinoura and 64 m at Usuda. So far, the power generation from the solar cells is normal, and the SLIM is operating without any problems with the power from the solar cells.
Small lunar landing demonstration vehicle SLIM
@SLIM_JAXA
·
17m
In this operation, we were able to perform multi-band observations of Akita Inu, Kai Inu, Saint Bernard, Shiba Inu, Beagle, and Tosa Inu using the spectroscopic camera! Beagle and Tosa Inu are new observation subjects that have been added to the observation list after restoration.
Small lunar landing demonstration vehicle SLIM
@SLIM_JAXA
·
17m
The next observation will be from 22:00 today (1/30) to 9:00 tomorrow (1/31). Please note that SLIM will be dormant for a while after February 1st.
-----------------------------


I assume the 'dormant' comment refers to the lo---ooooo---ooong lunar night.

Phil

https://twitter.com/SLIM_JAXA/status/1752520549962822122

This tweet translates via Google as:

From 10pm last night (1/30) to 9am today (1/31), we conducted multiband observations using a spectroscopic camera. Last night, new Labradors, Dalmatians, Papillons, and more were added to the group as a result of detailed analysis of the images and additional imaging results, and we are also conducting second observations of some of the objects.

More dogs! I hope they stay in the off-leash park. I was working on an illustration but may need to rethink it if it gets too crowded for the scale I was using.

Phil

Before/after our battery-imposed "nap" showing the lunar landscape just after landing versus after regaining contact.
Edit: No the daylight image is edited a bit. See below.
https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/slim/SLIM/ope...atus/index.html